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Barnet Borough Council adopts committee system of governance

Barnet Borough Council will make its decisions by committee rather than having a cabinet in charge.

The new system came into effect at the authority's annual council meeting last night and will mean decisions will be made by committees made up of cross-party councillors.

The political make-up of each committee will be proportionate to that of the council as a whole, although each will be led by a Conservative chairman, and decisions will reached on a majority basis.

Council leader Councillor Richard Cornelius said: “We are still only half way through a decade of austerity and there are many tough spending decisions ahead. However we are committed to dealing with these challenges in as open way as possible.

“By having a cross-party committee system, alternatives can be proposed and debated openly.

"I hope this wider openness will encourage a broader and properly informed debate about the future of the council and the borough.”

The committee system replaces the former cabinet system, which the council adopted in 2001.

Good!
Hope other less progressive boroughs would follow much needed similar Committee system.
The Cabinet system in local government without capable and professional Members, can finish up as an elected-mayor style administration like the one that Harrow recently suffered from!
http://MandWindepend
ents.blog.co.uk/2014
/05/23/political-imm
atur ity-18525090/HAkhtar